plume

aquatic ecosystems

...patterns of plankton abundance may be further influenced by local conditions. Heavy rainfall in coastal regions (especially areas in which monsoons prevail) can result in nutrient-rich turbid plumes (i.e., estuarine or riverine plumes) that extend into waters of the continental shelf. Changes in production, therefore, may depend on the season, the proximity to fresh water, and the timing...

formation of volcanic islands

...opportunity to study valley development with time is afforded by the phenomenon of the northwesterly movement of the Pacific Plate carrying a succession of volcanoes away from a stationary mantle plume (rising jet of partially molten rock material) located at the southern tip of Hawaii.

plate tectonics

...is uncertain (estimates range from 20 to 120), but most occur within a plate rather than at a plate boundary. Hot spots are thought to be the surface expression of giant plumes of heat, termed mantle plumes, that ascend from deep within the mantle, possibly from the core-mantle boundary, some 2,900 km (1,800 miles) below the surface. These plumes are thought to be stationary relative...